WASHINGTON: The United States Monday condemned what it called a “terrorist” assault on Syrian regime forces who came under fire after crossing into Iraq last week in an attack claimed by an Al-Qaeda group.

“Any kind of attack like this, any kind of terrorism like this is something that we should condemn,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

Al-Qaeda front group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed the attack on a convoy in west Iraq that killed 48 Syrian soldiers and nine Iraqi guards, in a statement posted on jihadist forums on Monday.

The soldiers, who were wounded and received treatment in Iraq, were being transported through the western province of Anbar on their way back to Syria when the attack took place on March 4, according to the Iraqi defense ministry.